Penny Flame was born in Aurora, Colorado, but was raised in the San Fransisco Bay area. She went to San Diego State to study business administration, planning for a career in hotel management. She began her modeling career by responding to an ad in the San Diego State newspaper. At one of the modeling jobs that followed she met an agent. Her stage name was inspired by The Beatles song "Penny Lane".

In 2003 she decided to make adult features to help pay for her schooling. By working four days a month she could earn enough money to allow her to focus on her studies the rest of the time. Penny began by only appearing in solo still photography. Her first scene an an adult film was in Indian Givers (2003) (V), directed by Robbie D. for Digital Playgound. During these early years Penny would only work in solo or all-girl scenes. In 2005 she began to work with men, and in that year won the AVN Award for "Best Solo Sex Scene" for Repo Girl (2003) (V). This boosted Penny's confidence in her work and helped her make the transition to working with men.

Later in 2005 she appeared in her first big-budget film, DarkSide (2005) (V) (which was also Red Light District's first feature film). She went on to win two more AVN Awards for her work in "Darkside", one for "Best Couples Sex Scene - Film" with Herschel Savage and the other for "Best Group Sex Scene - Film". However, Penny prefers and works primarily in gonzo films and signed an exclusive directing contract with Shane's World Studios. With Shane's World she began producing her own line of films title "Blazed and Confused". These movies display Penny's advocacy for marijuana.

In 2009 she entered the Pasadena Recovery Center for sex addiction, on the TV series "Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew" (2009). Initially she was going to use the series to gain publicity for her porn career, but in the end she accepted that she had a problem. She has since quit the porn business and is living in California in a committed relationship. She now goes by her real name, Jennie Ketcham. She writes a blog called "Becoming Jennie" and also writes for the Huffington Post. She also paints in her spare time and is working on a memoir. In March 2010 she appeared on the TV series "Sober House" (2009). She has stated that she has no regrets about her career in porn.

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An Interview:
She loves to act in features but loves to have sex like a gonzo princess. No wonder she is one of the hottest porn stars to hit the Valley lately. She is versatile, winning awards at last year's AVN awards show but she is also the girl that hardcore gonzo directors have at the top of their wish list. In this interview with XRentDVD's Big D, Penny Flame talks about if porn makes you a whore, how she got her name and becoming a squirter.

Big D: How did you make the transition from doing solo work on websites to doing boy/girl and hardcore scenes?

Penny Flame: When I first got into adult I didn't even do anything. I did solo stills and single finger penetration. I wouldn't even use toys in my scenes. That went all the way to about a year ago. I've been in the business quite a while and felt comfortable knowing that there are certain parts that actually are business. I am a total whore, I will admit that. Just because you fuck on camera doesn't make you a whore, but it totally does. But I eventually became okay with my 'whoreness' so to speak.

Big D: Were you struggling with that or doing adult made it okay?

Penny Flame: Doing adult made it okay. It opened my eyes that there can be purely casual sex. As a young woman it is really hard to keep that in mind as I was growing up. There's always this look for someone that has to meet all these standards. Sex isn't really the biggest one anymore. I just woke up one day and felt differently.

Big D: How old were you when you first started doing boy/girl and hardcore?

Penny Flame: 21.

Big D: You've been showing up on quite a few box covers. Is that flattering or it just goes with the business?

Penny Flame: It is flattering. It is a little bit of both. It's a Catch-22. All these beautiful girls are on the top of boxes. It's really neat to be put up there with very beautiful women. But then again there are some nasty fucking box covers out there. It's neat though. I'm stoked that it shows I am doing something right. I'm sucking someone's dick right.

Big D: You were awarded the 2005 AVN Best Solo Scene for your performance in Repo Girl by Digital Playground. Did that reaffirm your decision to go into hardcore adult films?

Penny Flame: Yeah, actually it did. It's really cool winning an award. I was really excited because it was an award for solo and it was just me. It made me a lot more confident as a business woman and as a porn star. It was nice to know that I could succeed if it was just me. I think that was what was holding me back from going into hardcore. Anybody can get into hardcore. But not many people can make it last. It was definitely reaffirming. I had no intentions of going anywhere in the first place. I love porn.

Big D: Outside of winning awards and being recognized, is it your goal to stay in porn for a while?

Penny Flame: I really think so. When I used to do softcore type stuff I really didn't think I was going to be in the business for a long time. But as I got further into the business I realized it was a lifestyle. It's something that once you've entered you really just can't turn away from it. I am sure tons of other girls have left the business and done just fine. It's nothing I ever feel like I am running from. If there comes a point where I stop liking it then fuck it, I'll quit.

Big D: What about working in porn that you like? Is it the money, the flexible hours, the people you work with? What about it makes you want to be in this for the long haul?

Penny Flame: I think it is a mixture of all those things you mentioned. I love the hours. I've never been happier in a job. There really are no better hours than porn hours unless you are on like a Vivid set or something crazy like that. I love the people. I like the people because there are so many good people and then there are some bad people as well. It's a very close knit community and at the same time a lot goes down. It's a really interesting, living, breathing entity to watch they way we all take over the valley like locusts.

Big D: Since porn is the best job you've ever had, what are some of the other crappy jobs you had before you got into porn?

Penny Flame: I worked in a pizza joint serving pizza. A coffee bar making espressos. It's not really my dish.

Big D: Did you get hit on a lot while you were working those jobs?

Penny Flame: Yeah, but I grew up in a fairly small town in the Bay Area so the only people that would come in there and hassle me were people that I knew. People that I probably went to school with.

Big D: Since it was a close knit community, do people know what you do and do you get recognized when you go back home?

Penny Flame: Well, a lot of the people that lived in my town have moved out and gone away and gone to college. Fortunately I don't have to run into to them all the time. Everybody knows. It's funny because everybody knew before I came out and told anybody. It's not really something you can hide because it's something everybody looks at. You better be ready to tell people, especially if they are important to you. My parents have known since day one. My mom is just stoked that I took the course that I did and really stretched out my career as a talent and made the most of it. As long as I am proud of what I am doing and it's something I am not afraid to share with other people, then there is nothing morally wrong with it.

Big D: Everyone has heard of the Beatles song Penny Lane, but how did you come up with the name Penny Flame?

Penny Flame: The Beatles song was the inspiration but I was scared of what might happen legally if I used that name. I didn't know if there was a trademark or what. I didn't want to look into it. And I smoke a lot.

Big D: You've done features and you've done gonzo movies. Do you have a preference of features or gonzo?

Penny Flame: I'll take the gonzo any day. Just because I know what I am in for. Typically I am going to go and get made up for about an hour and a half tops. Scene takes about two hours and then I am out. It's normally a four hour deal max. Features can be 14 to 16 hour days. But I love doing the features too because you don't get to act too much in gonzo. I do like to act. I just did James Avalon's first feature film, Darkside. I do a lot more gonzo stuff than feature stuff but any chance I get to do a feature I'll take it because it's fun.

Big D: Darkside was the first feature for Red Light District. It's essentially a feature but has gonzo type sex scenes. Was that weird doing a high budget feature but the sex scenes were what you would expect from a regular Red Light District production?

Penny Flame: That was actually my favorite part of the whole shoot. In gonzo work, the scenes are so quick. You really get to enjoy yourself sexually. You don't have to hold back. You can fuck like crazy or you can take it slow. There's a shorter amount of time so the energy is always hotter. I like that more. I would take that kind of scene over a five hour, make it beautiful, all this bullshit because it is not enjoyable. I do my job because I love it. If I get to go to work and get to act for a feature film and get to fuck like a gonzo film? Oh my God, that's like the perfect day. And plus it was a James Avalon film and he is a great guy.

Big D: On the set of Darkside, James Avalon said about you, 'I fell in love with Penny Flame. She's the best actress - and sex actress - I've come across.' What is your reaction when you hear something like that?

Penny Flame: It makes me feel much more confident in what I am doing. I am not as afraid to take these risks that you take when you act when you put yourself out there emotionally. With someone like James Avalon who is so respected in that kind of environment it's a great thing. It makes me feel great.

Big D: You have the girl next door look with natural breasts, freckles on your face. Do you think that works in your favor that you have that innocent look to you but when it comes right to it, you do the down and dirty gonzo scenes with the best of them?

Penny Flame: I think you can say that. I look like you can still take me home to your mom and play it off. I am not all that sure about your dad, but your mom you could probably play it off. But I am nasty. I am a nasty girl. I had no idea how nasty I was until I started doing a lot more gonzo. Once again I was able to be nasty. They (directors) would say, 'Oh you can talk? Talk nasty!' and I would say 'Yeah okay, I'll do it'. But then I will go home and live my life next to someone who would never guess what I do.

Big D: If you were talking to someone who had never seen one of your DVDs, which two or three would you say if you are going to see one you have to see one of these?

Penny Flame: I would have to say Darkside as the number one. It just covers everything and shows who I am and the different ways in which I fuck. There are different style scenes that are really intense and then there is a love scene where you get a nice perspective of everything. A great scene was with Manuel Ferrara and Erik Everhard directed it in Sport Fucking #4.

Big D: Is there a particular director or studio you like to work with? If someone called up your agency and said they wanted to book you, you would jump at the chance to work for them?

Penny Flame: There are a couple directors out there that have watched me progress throughout my career that I would work for any day. Robby D from Jack's Playground or all the guys over at Red Light are awesome. They broke me in sweetly. Everyone that I have ever run across in my career I would be happy to work with again at any time. I've had a really lucky run.

Big D: You are in Axel Braun's Squirting 201 too right?

Penny Flame: Yeah that was a pretty awesome scene. Me and Scott Nails and he finally got me to squirt. He positioned my butt in this upright position and just fucked me harder than I've ever been fucked and just brought it out in me and that was that. Scott's great. I love him.

Big D: The AVN nominations are approaching. Do you think there are any scenes or movies that you have done that are worthy of a nomination?

Penny Flame: I am hoping so. I am crossing my fingers. I am really hoping that Darkside gets feature film of the year. That was really one of my best performances and there were so many other people that worked on it that deserve an award. That would be awesome if that won.

Another Interview:
By Rick Ryan

This Colorado native never looked back once she hit the Hollywood hardcore scene. A petite brunette with a mouth made for blowjobs, Penny is a steamy sex kitten that has the bedroom eyes and the figure that men drool over. Penny has not only starred in movies for companies like Shane's World, Wicked Pictures, Elegant Angel, Red Light District, Adam & Eve, Hustler Video, Digital Playground and New Sensations, but she's also directed videos for Shane's World. Standing 5'2" tall, Penny measures out at a sexy 34C-24-34. She weights about 115 pounds, has brown hair and brown eyes. She entered the business when she was 19. Penny is currently 24 with a birthday last February. I sat down with Penny Flame after one of her performances at Bazooka Showgirls.

QLIMAX: Penny Flame, let's start out by telling the people where you're originally from and a description of yourself.

PENNY: Well, I was born in Aurora Colorado and raised a little bit in Evanston, Wyoming and then I moved to the bay area where I spent about ten years. When I was eighteen years old I moved out to San Diego and went to San Diego State and was there for three years. Then I moved to LA for another three years and then just moved back down to San Diego. I consider myself a full-fledged Californian from the North to the South to the middle. I've been in the industry now for six years. I like to paint, am into yoga and I'm just discovering how much better it feels to be healthy and to take care of yourself than not. So it is a very interesting time in my life right now.

QLIMAX: On your website you freely admitted you got into the cocaine habit and now you are free and clear. How in the world did that ever come about?

PENNY: It had nothing to do with the adult industry it was a San Diego state thing. I would go to school and once you start partying with the frat boys and sorority girls a lot, that is what their primary action of Friday night is. You know what I mean? Pretty soon it just snowballs and then it is an avalanche and six months go by and you have no idea what you have done those past six months. Funny enough, I actually moved to LA to get away from doing cocaine and everybody looks at me like I am crazy to move to LA to get away from that. It has almost been four years since I've been clean. I finally realized it had nothing to do with San Diego, probably nothing to do with San Diego State; it was just that I think I was very depressed at the time and I was looking for something that makes me a little happier temporarily. Little did I realize that it just kind of grew in time.

QLIMAX: Glad you are clean and you realize there are other highs in life.

PENNY: Way higher highs too!

QLIMAX: Now what happened in late August 2002?

PENNY: Late August 2002?

QLIMAX: Didn't you get a new agent?

PENNY: In August 2002 I started working for a guy named Ken Smith. He was with CSModels.net. He was really a great guy. Well actually, I just started doing girl-girl at the time and Ken represents really high-end girls. But they are all very soft core, but I got with Ken and I was with Ken for about 2 years and then I went through my whole drug abuse thing and that kind of ruined my relationship with Ken. So anyway, I ran into him a couple of times since then and got my act cleaned up.

QLIMAX: Now you hooked up with LA Direct and then Shane's World, correct?

PENNY: I hooked up with LA Direct about four months after I got clean and the owner of LA Direct, Derek, is an incredible agent and absolutely wonderful. So when I went to the LA Direct office I was like listen, I'm a recovering addict and I'm ok with doing this and not ok with doing that, not that I am judging other people for doing it but it is a matter of what I am comfortable with, so don't push me and I'll be one of the best girls you got. So ever since then LA Direct has had me so busy with projects. I've been to Tokyo to fucking Spain all in the name of work and it has been a very harmonious relationship between us. Then Shane's World actually provided me a great outlet as far as a chance to direct some movies. I directed movies for them for two years and we ended up having a little bit of a falling out.

QLIMAX: In directing films, if you were going to direct again, whom would you most want for a film?

PENNY: As a performer? Oh gosh. You know I absolutely adore Sunny Lane. I think she is so talented. I think as far as girls who really enjoy their job you can see it in her eyes. You can see this is what she wants to do and it is also very inspiring. She has her whole family supporting her and she just did an ABC special on the Adult Industry and of course they were able to switch it around a little bit and maybe she didn't come off as great as she is, but she is fantastic. Then another girl who I really like and really admire is Hillary Scott. She takes it like a fucking pro and the girl can act too. I was on the remake of Debbie Does Dallas again and she actually played Debbie or the reincarnation of Debbie. Leave it to porn to make reincarnation movies... it is silly. She was absolutely fantastic and her whole goal in Debbie was to play Debbie as an ugly, icky kind of not so hot kind of girl and for Hillary Scott to be able to play somebody who you are like yuck is so stretched but she totally pulled it off.

QLIMAX: Is there any one guy you haven't worked with in the industry but would like to work with?

PENNY: Everybody that I've wanted to work with I got to work with. Somebody I would like to work with more is Anthony Rosano. I only had the pleasure of actually working with him once and actually unfortunately it was for an Internet company. They were real strict! They wanted it to be really passionate. And it was such a hot sexy scene, and he and I have chemistry no matter what. So I'd like to work with Anthony on some more films.

QLIMAX: Tell us about awards.

PENNY: Gosh about three years ago I won my first award. I won best solo sex scene and that was for a movie called Repo Girl where I played a chick with multiple personality disorders who was getting her car repoed, and so one of the personalities was a drunk and the other was a horny slut and one was a prude. It was directed by Robby Dee and the scene actually cut back and forth in between these characters so it looked like there was three of me in the same room. The prude was screaming at the two, the drunk and the slut, they are taking our car and it was fucking hilarious. So I don't think I actually got an award for masturbating, it was more for having more personalities than one little girl should. Two years ago I got awarded best couple scene with Hershel Savage and best group sex and that was with so many people. It was for Dark Side. It was Red Lights very first feature film, which I had the pleasure of being cast for.

QLIMAX: When you are not doing porn and you are not featuring at different gentleman's clubs across the United States, what do you enjoy doing?

PENNY: I absolutely love to read. Right now I'm reading the Tibetan book of 'Living and Dying.' It really focuses on confronting the fact that we all die and allowing ourselves to be more compassionate towards other people. It's like, why be mean you know. I like to paint with oil. I like the oil because it makes me be a little bit non-committal, which my ex-boyfriend will tell you is me to a T. Then I absolutely love Yoga and have fallen in love with the Begrimed. In the Yoga I do they keep the room to like 110 degrees.

QLIMAX: You definitely like to stay in shape and I hear you run a lot.

PENNY: I love to run actually. It is like there is nothing I like to do more than run and that is why I quit smoking cigarettes. And after a nine-year run I figured it was time and that was one of my quitting methods. Some people would chew on licorice sticks or chew gum, I would go for a run. You and I could be talking and I would have a craving for a cigarette and I would just get up and walk out. My roommate was ready to fucking kill me because I walked out on him during so many conversations and he would say you need to get over your cravings because we haven't finished a conversation in like a month.

QLIMAX: You run over 2 miles each time you run?

PENNY: Yes. I try to run at least 7 miles a week. It really all depends on where my head is at the time. If I'm like really out of my mind as far as wellness in concerned, I'll just run until I am so exhausted that I can't go on.

QLIMAX: Do you enjoy the beach?

PENNY: I just moved back there actually and thought finally I can go for a run on the beach. So I went for a two mile run on the beach and the next morning I woke up and my calves would not work for the life of me, so I figured the whole sand thing is different than the concrete thing, so I have to ease my way back into beach jogging. I'm so happy to be back at the beach and I am actually within walking distance of it. I see the ocean every day. Lay by it, get a little skin cancer form of vitamin D, but I say fuck it.

QLIMAX: What future plans do you have?

PENNY: At this moment I really am enjoying getting out there and meeting people. It is a fantastic way to stay in shape. I love meeting other dancers because I really admire these girls. They defy gravity and it is amazing. And as far as life after porn I'm thinking of maybe becoming a Yoga instructor or a health-oriented thing.

QLIMAX: What type of music do you enjoy?

PENNY: I am a big hip-hop and reggae fan. I would do every set to hip-hop and reggae if everybody in the world liked hip-hop and reggae. Either that or like classic rock, not like 80's rock but give me some Stones. I love music, love jazz and a little country. The only thing I don't like is screaming metal.

QLIMAX: Out of the cities you have been to featuring or doing porn, do you have a particular city that has been your favorite outside of where you live?

PENNY: As far as feature dancing goes I would have to say Atlanta. I had such a fantastic time down there and it was the first time I ate at Waffle House, which I fell in love with. The whole southern hospitality is so to a T and amazing. As far as cities in the world go I would say I've been to Japan twice this past year so I absolutely loved it. Once again the customs and social etiquette is so different from America. It is absolutely beautiful. It is like they are all on the honor system there. I really liked it.

QLIMAX: Do you have a website and what is that website?

PENNY: Clubpenny.com check it out.

QLIMAX: If a person joins up what do they expect to see?

PENNY: I just launched it about 2 months ago so I have plenty of like solo pictures, girl-girl pictures, and am starting to get the boy-girl pictures up and within the next month I'll have my web cam set up in San Diego in my second bedroom. So that will show off all of my art, live paint or whenever I masturbate which is quite often actually.

QLIMAX: Are you Bi-Sexual?

PENNY: Oh yes, I love ladies. I don't think I could get romantically involved with a woman because I have enough insanity for myself. I love being with women, but waking up next to women creates a problem.

QLIMAX: Any last words you may have for your fans out there?

PENNY: I hope this interview finds you happy and healthy and I wish you all the best.

After the interview and her last show that night, penny, Pete and myself were in front of the club on the sidewalk when one of her fans came up in his motorized wheelchair. He invited penny to sit in his lap for a spin. She did! Before you knew it, penny and the fan were zooming down the sidewalk at a high rate of speed. She was having a blast! No telling what she did during the remaining time in Kansas City as wild as she is.